Chapter 407: Defeating the Enemy with One Punch

With the entry of an Advanced Martial Master, the nature of this challenge changed.

The forces in Fucheng are deeply intertwined and complex in origin, yet the existence of an Advanced Martial Master still holds significant weight.

Among the Gate Guests of noble families, while there are many Primary and Intermediate Martial Masters, the number of Advanced Martial Masters drops off a cliff.

As a darling of his noble family, Liu Fengji only has 3 Advanced Martial Masters in his Personal Guard, and once lost, they have yet to be replaced to this day.

This challenge by Zhou You has caused a huge stir among the vast number of low-level martial artists, even drawing many peers from martial arts schools to watch.

However, the true upper echelons are not paying attention.

For instance, the number one martial arts school in Fucheng, the Overlord Martial Arts School, did not send anyone, nor did the noble families, and so on! No matter how strong Zhou You is, even if he is the youngest Primary Martial Master or can rival an Intermediate Martial Master, it ultimately has no impact on the overall situation.

That was until he brought out an Advanced Martial Master nearing the level of a Mighty Martial Master...

"Name unknown, appearance unknown, background unknown; the skin on his body is ulcerated and scarred, suspected to be from fire, corrosion, etc. Among Fucheng and its thirteen subordinate cities, not a single Advanced Martial Master matches these characteristics."

"Tracing Zhou You's activity trajectory, there are no martial artists meeting the criteria in Gongliang City and its surroundings either."

"Furthermore..."

Zheng Qing stopped reading here.

This is the station of the City Gate Guard in Fucheng; after the news arrived, Yu Jiuzhang immediately sent people to collect information and report it up.

Unfortunately, nothing was gained; this Advanced Martial Master seems to have popped out from the ground, with no family, no connections, and nothing known about him.

"Before today, no one had seen this martial artist, and no one knew of his relationship with Zhou You."

Zheng Qing analyzed, "It is highly likely they met during the process of Zhou You fleeing Gongliang City."

"Hmm, that is plausible. Su Cheng, Zunyang, and Gongliang suffered disasters, and countless martial artists left their homes; it is possible an Advanced Martial Master ended up in Fucheng and accidentally ran into Zhou You."

Yu Jiuzhang asked Zheng Qing again, "Could that fist technique of birds and beasts Zhou You uses also have been taught by him?"

"Highly likely. When I was in Fucheng, Zhou You only practiced Tiger Form Fist and did not study any other fist techniques."

Zheng Qing was inwardly shocked; he had thought he would never see Zhou You again, but he did not expect that upon meeting again, the other party was no longer the same as before.

He now works for the City Gate Guard in Fucheng, an environment a step above Gongliang City, and Yu Jiuzhang values him highly.

"I heard he once applied to be a City Gate Guard in Gongliang City but never passed the assessment; what a pity."

"If his application had been passed earlier, my City Gate Guard would have gained another young officer, and we could have also recruited this Advanced Martial Master."

Yu Jiuzhang sighed repeatedly; missed, missed.

Zheng Qing lowered his head and said nothing; he was thinking that if Zhou You had joined the City Gate Guard back then, and if his luck had been bad, he would likely have already been buried in the campaign against that small lurking charm.

Even he himself was lucky not to have caught up with the great battle, only barely saving his life in Fucheng.

"Zheng Qing, you have a history with him; do not break contact, and take opportunities to interact more."

Hearing this, Zheng Qing cupped his hands, "This subordinate obeys!"

Within many noble families, conversations of various occasions were held, and the content of these conversations was Zhou You and the mysterious Advanced Martial Master.

Although the Fist Intent Puppet had not yet made a move, the fullness of the Qi and blood within his body was undisguised, signaling the terrifying strength of his power.

Some even discerned a hint of the flavor of a Mighty Martial Master from his Qi and blood artistic conception, which is very serious.

It means that this Advanced Martial Master with burns all over his body is highly likely to break through to become a Mighty Martial Master in the future.

Such a figure must be treated with caution and cannot be taken lightly.

"Isn't Zhou You planning to open a martial arts school? Just use this to let him settle down in Fucheng. Once he stays, that Advanced Martial Master will have a trail to follow."

"Hmm, the stronger the strength, the greater the restraint; this is the foundation for us to maintain the order of the world."

"The Xiaolin Martial Arts School can be removed from the list; let that place be transferred to Zhou You to open his school!" In a corner where no one noticed, and without the parties involved even knowing, the outcome of this challenge had already been determined.

In front of the Xiaolin Martial Arts School...

Two Advanced Martial Masters stood in confrontation, and the surroundings became lively, noisier than a vegetable market.

"Run, move back, retreat!"

Everyone's hair stood on end; figures flew across roofs and walls, each using their own movement techniques to flee outward.

The level of an exchange between Advanced Martial Masters far exceeds that of ordinary Primary and Intermediate Martial Masters; it is feared that this entire street will be caught in the aftermath.

Even if the onlookers retreated three thousand meters away, they could not avoid being affected, so they all ran extremely fast.

Some of the weaker ones had already given up; if slightly weaker Qi and blood martial artists were to be on the scene and face the scene of the fight directly, they would likely not even be able to keep their eyes.

"."

Tiger Elder Gongye Wei cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask for your esteemed name?"

"The little ones call me Gu Lao, those of the same generation call me Old Gu; call me whatever you like!"

The Fist Intent Puppet said irritably.

Zhou You's naming was too sloppy; he only took the 'Gu' from Gu Insect and gave him a homophonic character 'Gu', and that was it.

"So it is Brother Gu Lao; may I ask, what is your relationship to Zhou You?"

Gongye Wei asked patiently.

The Fist Intent Puppet said straight out, "He is my junior; whoever wants to bully him, I will hammer them to death."

A single sentence, simple and crude, stated the relationship; no matter what, he would support Zhou You to the end today.

Gongye Wei sighed; this vicious fight today was unavoidable. He could not be cowardly; to be cowardly was to admit defeat.

He immediately shook his body, his hair stood on end, the Qi and blood all over his body were activated from a dormant state, and his limb joints erupted with popping sounds like fried beans.

A single posture and movement displayed his profound foundation as a famous master of Tiger Fist.

Everyone heard the Qi and blood in his body flowing like a great river, surging endlessly, as if they were standing on a damp riverbank.

The intense Qi and blood were like the morning sun, causing the surrounding temperature to rise sharply. It was as scorching as the arrival of summer.

The Qi and blood power of an Advanced Martial Master had reached the point of affecting the external environment from the inside out.

The Fist Intent Puppet did not even blink at this, merely raising a fist, and the surrounding audience held their breath at the sight.

A simple, straightforward punch was thrown out, with no discernible style of any fist technique!

Even an ordinary strong man who has never learned boxing could throw a punch in the same posture with a casual wave, and it might even look better than his.

Seeing this, Gongye Wei felt the hairs all over his body tremble, and his pupils dilated three times over, as if they wanted to split his eye sockets.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he was struck by a punch in front of him, and the entire space revealed a concave outline.

The power of this punch made him briefly recall many years ago, when he was still a vibrant youth on Dayin Mountain, full of infinite longing for the future.

That day, he had the good fortune to see a powerful martial arts senior in the mountain, and that strength, which surpassed that of a Martial Master, left an indelible impression on his heart forever.

To this day, his hair has long since turned white, yet that memory remains incomparably clear.

Within the fist technique of "Gu Lao," there were actually traces that stirred his memories.

A sense of fear rose in Gongye Wei; this is bad, this person is only a hair's breadth away from being a powerful martial artist.

Boom! Carried by immense shock, Gongye Wei was knocked back by the punch, crashing in through the front door of the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall, piercing through the entire hall to fly out the back door, and finally landing somewhere unknown.

(End of chapter)